You started your capstone phase by posting a first draft of your problem statement. While there will be many more drafts and revisions, having started the process of finding a topic is catapulting yourself forward in the doctoral program. It is of utmost importance that you consider the feedback from your instructor carefully. Every word matters!
Please keep revising your problem statement based on your instructor's feedback. There will be many more revisions.
A problem can only be investigated in a capstone study if you have solid evidence that it exists.
In addition to you identifying the problem (for example, through personal communication at your local site), the problem must be considered a problem in the educational discipline by published research. Your work builds on, and adds to, the work other scholars have done. To determine if your research problem is current, you need to search the most recent peer-reviewed literature. At this point in your study, seek reference literature that has been published within the last 3 years.
The university library provides information on how to use Boolean terms to narrow your searches of recent peer-reviewed literature: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/booleanLinks to an external site..
Your topic must be aligned to the specialization you enrolled in for your degree program. For example, if your specialization is Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment then your topic must focus on either Curriculum, Instruction, or Assessment. You would not be able to study "retention of biology professors at research universities" as a topic. A list of topics appropriate for your specialization is located on our website at: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/research-center/program-documents/eddLinks to an external site.. Click on "Students Working on Prospectus Form".
If in doubt, please reach out to your specialization coordinator. Their names and email addresses are also available on our website.
Before you search the literature, you should complete the lesson on "Critical Reading" which you can find at:
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/academic-skills-center/success-strategies/critical-readingLinks to an external site.
Please review the "Critical Reading for Evaluation" slide presentations which is located toward the middle of the page.
To prepare:
- Bookmark our website: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/research-center/program-documents/eddLinks to an external site.
- Review the resources.
- Review the feedback from your instructor on your first-week discussion posting.
- Review the feedback from your instructor to your fellow students – most doctoral students go through the same thinking process and therefore, you will learn from feedback others received as well.
Instructions for Prospectus Form
- Download the prospectus form from the EdD website:
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/research-center/program-documents/eddLinks to an external site.
Click on "Students Working on Prospectus Form" - Name your file "Lastname, Firstname DQ Prospectus Draft 1 on (insert date)."
- Print the appendix of the Prospectus Form and review the examples.
- Read the instructions at the top and complete your name, student ID, and program/specialization. Ignore the other boxes for now.
- Insert a working title even though you will change it at least a dozen times.
- Start inserting the peer-reviewed, recent literature you have already read. Make sure to cite in APA7 (see Week 1 tutorial). Note that dissertations in ProQuest are not peer-reviewed. Try to have two or three articles for now.
- Write your one-sentence problem statement without changing the sentence prompt in the form.
- Insert the evidence of the problem. Any evidence needs to be publicly available (average test scores on district websites, college dropout rates on the Department of Education website, personal communication, etc.).
- If you have solid evidence in form of data, insert a table with the data for the last 3 years (years are the rows of the table). The table needs to be in APA7. See the following website for more guidance: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/formandstyle/apa/tablesfiguresLinks to an external site.
- Understand our Academic Integrity Guidelines, including the appropriate and inappropriate use of AI Tools
- Walden University Library. (n.d.-b). Keyword searching: Finding articles on your topic: Connect keywordsLinks to an external site.. Walden Academic Guides. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/boolean
- Walden University Capstone Form and Style. (n.d.). Tables and figures: HomeLinks to an external site.. Walden University Academic Guides. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/formandstyle/apa/tablesfigures
- Walden University Office of Research and Doctoral Services. (n.d.-b). Doctoral prospectus resourcesLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/research-center/program-documents/prospectus-resources
- Note: Please refer to the EDD Prospectus Form link on this web page.
- OASIS: Academic Skill Center. (n.d.-a). Critical Reading Links to an external site. [Multimedia]. Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/academic-skills-center/success-strategies/critical-reading
- Note: Please review the "Critical Reading for Evaluation" slides which is located toward the middle of the page.
- Walden University Center for Social Change. (n.d.). Scholars of changeLinks to an external site. [Video]. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/social-change/scholars-of-change
- Go to the Walden Center for Social Changed and view videos about Walden's Scholars of Change.
- Walden University, LLC. (2016e). Dr. Research: Review of literature [Multimedia]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes
Problem statement
The problem that will be addressed through this study is that, despite implementing a comprehensive first-year seminar and peer mentoring program, approximately 40% of first-year students at a midsize public university drop out before reaching their sophomore year of college.